I am doing a renovation in an old Baltimore City, MD home and it requires a service upgrade. Basically I am redoing the entire electrical system from start to finish.

What I need to know since this is the first time I have ever done this is where am I required to tie my grounds to and how?

A fellow electrician told me he THINKS a grounding rod is required. If this is the case what are the requirements of the grounding rod.

Also, he said the the ground needs to be anchored to the water pipes. What are the requirements for this?

Thanks in advance for your help